


Sickly Truth

by Widow_Spyder



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Angst, Delirium, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy Ending, Huddling For Warmth, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sick Character, Sickfic, our mentalist just doesn't have a good time, sengen, senku tries to remedy this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:15:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24358681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Widow_Spyder/pseuds/Widow_Spyder
Summary: Let it be known on Gen’s tombstone that while he may be the stone world’s best (and only) mentalist, sometimes his best judgments can fly out of the window at the worst of times for the worst reasons. His current situation proves it because as much as he hates to admit it, he’s sick.~~ Or Gen is sick but hides it until it becomes too much. Senku takes care of him.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu
Comments: 26
Kudos: 358





	Sickly Truth

Let it be known on Gen’s tombstone that while he may be the stone world’s best (and only) mentalist, sometimes his best judgments can fly out of the window at the worst of times for the worst reasons. His current situation proves it because as much as he hates to admit it, he’s sick. 

It has been a day now, and it’s not getting any easier to handle. The next problem - or shall we call it, Gen’s next mistake - is not telling anyone about it. But that’s normal for him, isn’t it? Back in the old world, he was independent and always took care of himself. Relying on others was just a sure-fire way for them to disappoint you when they inevitably took advantage. 

So he keeps it on the down-low, making up excuses that he’s working on new projects by himself and can’t be disturbed while he secretly rests within his hut and takes care of himself. It actually works for a time, another day passes, and while he isn’t feeling any better, he’s able to relax with the knowledge that he won’t be disturbed and can ride this out without anyone knowing.

Of course, that’s when he hears four sharp knocks on his door and Senku’s familiar voice on the other side, telling him to get up and get packing because they were both walking over to Ishigami village. 

_This would be the time,_ Gen thinks. Reveal his ill stricken situation and get out of having to walk for two days in the summer heat but have to deal with the downside of everyone learning that he was sick and then having to deal with everyone trying to help. It’s that last thought that has Gen slowly pushing himself up, quietly clearing his throat and answering back. 

“Be out in a minute, Senku-chan!” 

This wasn’t going to end well. 

——————

Senku is impatiently tapping his foot on the ground by the time Gen finally emerges from his hut, 15 minutes later. The first thing he notices is the bags under Gen’s eyes, stark in contrast against his pale face. He also seems to be walking deliberately controlled as if he were measuring each step he took. 

“Ready, Senku-chan!” Gen chirps, his usual smile gracing his lips. 

_Even his voice sounds off,_ Senku thinks. “Everything alright?” 

“Yep, everything’s fine.” Gen waves him off dismissively, but Senku doesn’t buy it just yet. Gen must see that because he quickly adds, “Just didn’t get a lot of sleep, that’s all.”

When he thinks back on it later, this would be the first warning sign that something was wrong. But he doesn’t heade the warning in his head and simply accepts Gen’s answer with a light eye roll. “Well, don’t stall behind, mentalist, we have a lot of ground to cover.”

Gen responding sigh sounds fond in a way. “Of course, Senku-chan.” 

From there, they head out, after saying goodbye to everyone even though they’ll technically still be in touch, and set out on the forest path. It’s about an hour into their journey that Gen realizes just what a bad idea this really was. The summer heat was relentless in its endeavor to make him feel miserable, and the headache returned tenfold, throbbing behind his eyes, making him unsteady and irritable. 

_He doesn’t say anything._

Two hours and 34 minutes into their journey, finds Gen panting harshly and falling behind. It’s actually a good position being that far away from Senku because he wouldn’t be able to hear the whines coming out after every breath he took. He’s exhausted now, his heart throbbing in time with his breathing that he just can’t seem to manage to fully fill his lungs with. 

He’s achy, already seeing dark spots creep into the edges of vision and just feels so hot despite the lack of sweat. Distantly, Gen thinks that that’s not good. He should stop, rest and hydrate so he can get better. But stopping means Senku also stopping, which would result in him finding out, and that can’t happen for whatever reason Gen can’t remember right now. 

_He still doesn’t say anything._

Another 30 minutes pass, and Gen is now desperate. Making his body take step after step is a process so strenuous he wants to throw up. So finally, he starts voicing this to Senku. 

“Senku-chan, perhaps we should take a break.”

“We’ve only been walking for a few hours, mentalist; we’ll take a break after a few more hours pass for lunch,” Senku responds, not even looking back to where Gen has fallen behind again. 

Gen lets a couple of beats of silence pass before he speaks up again. “I think we should stop here and rest for a while.”

“And I think we should keep moving so we can make better time.” 

And oh, Gen could just cry right now. “Senku-chan, please, we’ve gone on long enough.” 

“Maybe if you actually kept up instead of lagging behind, we’d get to a resting point faster.” 

“Fine,” Gen mutters, wrapping his arms around his waist to conceal the shivers rattling his bones. It should be a foreboding thing that he’s now cold instead of hot like he was before, but Gen’s too out of it to notice. 

Meanwhile, Senku was getting increasingly more frustrated as they continued down the path. 

He couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong, yet he couldn’t quite figure out why. He repeatedly checked his compass, the weather patterns, the sensitivity of the rocks they walked on. Nothing was explaining it. 

“Senku,” Gen whispered behind him, hearing Gen’s shuffling stop. 

Senku sighed in exasperation. “That’s the fifth time you’ve asked Gen, and my answer hasn’t changed.” 

“Oh.” He hears though it sounds more like an exhale than an actual response. Still, it does nothing to satiate Senku’s mood. 

“For both our sakes, just stop complaining and walk.” Senku snapped, tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’ll save more energy that way anyway.” 

No response.

Is Gen playing on his mood to manipulate him to take a rest? “If you hate walking so much, then why the hell did you even come?” Senku asks, again not getting a response other than a slight shift in wind patterns. 

Senku sighs, throwing up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine, you can take a break, but I’m continuing on the pa-” A heavy thud interrupted Senku before he could finish, making Senku groan. He didn’t think Gen would actually stop. _Maybe he wasn’t exaggerating after all._

Senku shook his head and walked a few more feet ahead, deliberately keeping his pace slow to tease the other. When Senku fails to hear the pattern of footsteps behind him, he decides to sneak a peek and look back towards Gen. 

The sight that greets him is not at all what he was expecting because Gen is face down on the ground, trembling as if he were fighting a chill despite the clear sheen of sweat gathered on his face. Senku stood frozen as he watched the contents of Gen’s pack slowly fall out into the dirt next to his head, only snapping out of it when Gen’s breath hitched almost violently like his body had forgotten to breathe for a second. With all the heavy panting he was doing, that probably wasn’t too far off from the truth. 

All his previous frustration rushes out of Senku in a harsh exhale, and before he knows it, he’s kneeling on the ground next to Gen and carefully removing the empty pack from Gen’s back. Even through his many layers of clothes, Senku can feel the relentless heat radiating from Gen’s body. It’s not a low-grade fever either, and it’s no wonder he collapsed from it. 

Once the pack is off, Senku maneuvers his arms under Gen’s and drags him to the shade under a nearby tree, propping Gen up against the tree’s bark, and after making sure he’s not about to fall, he runs back for their packs, quickly returning and dropping them nearby. 

The next thing he does is tug Gen’s clothes off because four layers in the summer heat with this high of a fever was definitely not doing him any favors. Once Gen was down to just his undershirt and pants, Senku finally coaxed Gen’s body to lie against his bedroll that was spread out next to him. 

Then, Senku makes quick work of finding and grabbing everything he has from both their packs that could help, including a piece of fabric that he ties around his mouth and nose to keep himself from catching whatever is ailing his friend. He also snaps on a pair of gloves that he brought just in case and begins examining Gen’s body. 

He checks his pulse and heartbeat, which is going a little faster than normal but otherwise isn’t a huge concern yet. Moving his hands upwards, Senku checks the lymph nodes in Gen’s neck, finding them swollen and seemingly tender if Gen’s soft grunt is anything to go by. Checking his mouth reveals no strep, to Senku’s relief though his throat is a bit red and raw. It’s when Senku moves on to peeling Gen’s eyelids down to check his eyes, that Gen suddenly wakes with a gasp. 

“Hey, hey, it’s me, you’re alright.” Senku shushes, keeping his voice calm as he places a hand on Gen’s shoulder. The other is blinking a lot, trying to focus on his surroundings, and clear away the fog in his brain. It’s when Gen tries to sit up, that Senku finally moves, pushing Gen back down to the ground. “Woah, woah, take it easy, you have a fever. How long have you been sick?”

It takes longer than Senku is comfortable with for Gen to respond, but when he does, Senku does not get the answer he was expecting. “I’m sorry,” Gen whispers, as a frown overtakes his features, and his eyes start to get shiny. “I’m sorry, Senku-chan, I should’ve said so sooner, and now I’m wasting our time…” 

A band of guilt is winding itself around Senku’s ribs when Gen does not stop his repeated apologies, now punctuated with whines, whimpers, and the occasional cough. “It’s alright, mentalist, don’t apologize. I’m more worried about you than our time tables right now.” Senku soothes, petting Gen’s head and moving the stiff with sweat bangs off his forehead. “I need to know, though, how long have you been sick?”

“Two days,” Gen whispers, seemingly relaxing under Senku’s ministrations. “It started with a headache that just never went away.” 

“Okay, do you still have that headache?” Gen nods. “Stuffy nose? Congestion?”

“A little.” 

“Right, well, hopefully, I have the stuff that can help,” Senku says as he checks Gen’s fever, a scowl dancing across his expression at the sheer heat that sits there like a blanket. After getting Gen to stay put, Senku walked over to a nearby stream and filled their spare jars with the cool water as well as soaked some rags made from old clothes. When he returns, Gen is exactly where he left him, staring off into space in the general direction of the treeline. 

“So, what now?” Gen asks once Senku sits back down and arranges his stuff. His voice is getting more hoarse too. 

“We rest and stay here until you can travel again,” Senku says, placing the wet rag on Gen’s forehead and eyes, smiling at the obscene moan of relief from the other. A few minutes later, Gen is falling asleep as Senku works quietly next to him. He stirs when he feels Senku’s hands cup his cheek. 

“Sorry, I don’t exactly have the softest hands.” Senku apologizes, but Gen has none of it as he rubs his cheek against that hand like a cat nuzzling its owner. 

“N’no I like it.” Gen mumbles. “is rough… like the ground… grounding.”

He hears Senku chuckle above him, and then he knows no more. 

——————

When night falls, Gen’s condition takes a turn for the worse as he starts shivering violently from within the confines of his bedroll. It’s maddening for Senku because while Gen feels like he’s cold, his body is actually way too hot. And Senku lets him know this when Gen tries to take back the blankets Senku pulls off him. But Gen doesn’t listen and insists he needs them because it’s too damn cold. 

Between his coughing, whining, and unconsciousness, the last thing Gen needs is something that’ll raise his fever. In his mind, Senku knows this, but he’s never been one to be able to ignore the helpless whines of his closest friends, especially this time as Senku couldn’t help but feel responsible for this turn of events.

Gen had asked for a break, but he had turned him down multiple times. Even before they left, he should’ve known Gen was ill. Now they’re stuck in the middle of the forest, halfway between both locations of the science kingdom with no medicine or proper tools. 

So with a defeated sigh, Senku moves behind Gen and props him up against his chest, being sure to keep his face angled away from Gen’s so he wouldn’t have the chance to catch anything and positions himself comfortably for the long night ahead. Gen’s sigh of relief as he soaks in Senku’s body heat is small, shaky but there and that’s all Senku can hope for. With his head resting peacefully on top of Senku’s chest and his shivering lessening bit by bit, Gen finally falls asleep for the night. 

Senku, however, does not get a wink of sleep the entire night. 

The next time Gen wakes, he’s less lucid than before, and his fever has risen another degree. He startles when Senku looks over him and begins squirming to get away, harsh coughs erupting from his lungs at the movement. 

_Ah, the mask. He probably can’t recognize me._

“Gen, it’s Senku, you’re alright.” Senku tries to soothe Gen, as he dodges little kicks and slaps coming from the panicking other. But Gen either doesn’t hear him or ignores him.

“Please, please don’t. I’ll be good. I’ll be good.” Gen mumbles, tears already leaking down his face into his hair. And shit Senku does not want to know the implications behind _that._

So for the next couple hours, Senku moves almost desperately between running cold rags over Gen’s forehead, neck, and chest, and muttering soothing praises when Gen’s fever dreams startup. 

There’s really nothing else he can do. The village is still miles away, and he can’t just carry Gen on his back all the way. They’re both stuck for the time being with no medicine and a fever that just won’t quit. 

Idly, Senku thinks that this situation really sucks.

——————

Senku is in the middle of cleaning off the sweat on Gen’s forehead when he hears a branch snap near them. Instinctively, Senku curls around Gen’s body, shielding him from whatever foe is lurking past them when a figure of blonde hair and a blue dress emerges from the brush.

“Kohaku?!” 

“Senku! I’ve been looking all over you two.” Kohaku smiles at them brightly, before it disappears completely as she takes in the sight in front of her. “What’s happened?” She asks, swiftly moving to crouch next to them, giving them both several once-overs. They can’t be pretty sights, Senku thinks. Gen is half on top of him, unconscious and breathing hard while Senku is sure he’s disheveled from not sleeping the night before. 

“He’s sick. There’s an extra mask in my pack, put it on.” Senku orders, watching Kohaku quickly obey before returning. “He has a high fever and is losing lucidity.” 

“What kind of ailment is this?” Kohaku asks, and Senku can’t miss the worried tone in her voice. _Ah, right, Ruri had gone through a similar thing, didn’t she?_ What he was probably witnessing here was Kohaku’s ingrained protectiveness. 

“Influenza or flu as far as I can tell,” Senku answers, looking back down at Gen’s face and flipping the rag on his forehead over to the cooler side. “I don’t have enough here to make a full diagnosis. Nor the medicine to make him better.”

Kohaku nods, grim in her expression. “What do we do?”

“First, we wake him and assess our situation. We need to travel back to Ishigami village fast, but moving him without knowing what kind of state he’s in could be dangerous.” 

Kohaku nods again, moving to take Gen off Senku’s lap and into hers. 

“Gen?” Senku pats Gen’s cheek lightly, and when that doesn’t work, takes to rubbing his knuckles over Gen’s sternum. “Come on, mentalist, we need you awake.”

It takes a little coaxing from both parties, but eventually, they manage to get Gen to come back to consciousness, little by little. First, his body shudders a little, and his eyes scrunch a few times as he fights whatever fever dreams he was having. 

“He’s not waking,” Kohaku says after a few minutes pass. Now she’s the one to tap him lightly on the cheek as Senku pulls back to grab their canteen. He tips some water into Gen’s mouth to drink, hoping the fluid would help bring him back to wakefulness sooner. 

“Give him time. His brain is probably trying to siphon through what’s real and what’s not.” Senku tells her, but he can see the panic starting to set into her as well. 

“The aceta -something is what we need, right?” 

Senku nods. “Acetaminophen, yes, it’ll reduce his fever.”

“I can run back to the village and grab it.” Kohaku offers, already moving to stand when Senku puts his palm up and stops her. 

“No, you’d be more useful staying here and helping me.” Senku can see it plain as day that Kohaku does not want to sit here helplessly, but she settles back down anyway. “Besides, I think he’s ready to get up,” Senku notes the way Gen’s fingers have started twitching and the little moans he makes. “Gen?” 

“Mhmmph.” Gen turns his head a little as his eyes open a fraction of a centimeter. 

“Gen, listen to me. We need to ask you some questions, okay?” Senku says, continuing when Gen affirms with another mumble. “Can you tell me what day it is?”

Gen’s eyebrows furrow a little, but he doesn’t answer. 

“Maybe he doesn’t know,” Kohaku suggests getting a raised eyebrow from Senku. “He’s been unconscious this whole time, hasn’t he? What if you asked him the year?” 

Senku sighs. “Fine, Gen, can you tell us what year it is.” 

Gen’s answer is mumbled, breathed out on the exhale and quiet as a mouse, but his response is unmistakable. “2019.”

——————

Gen has had some wild dreams in the past. Strange and fumbled looking images of memories flashing past him so fast, he can’t be sure which memory he’s remembering. Nightmares were more common for him than what was thought. Not that anyone needed to know that. His current dream doesn’t even make it onto the list of the weirdest, but here he is anyway. He’s lying on a couch surrounded by his manager, producer, and a couple of assistants and stagehands. They’re going over the routine for his next show and creating time tables for him so he can have room for writing his newest book while on tour. It’s a normal setup that he does regularly as a performer, so it’s nothing he hasn’t experienced before. 

It’s a little while of just going over scripts that Gen can barely read because he doesn’t have his reading glasses on when he notices his producer handing him a drink. In fact, there’s a whole array of drinks and snacks on the table. Despite not remembering when they got there, Gen smiles and accepts the coffee cup, finding his limbs a little sluggish, but he contributes it to his usual lack of sleep. The coffee will fix that, he’s sure. 

He drinks when he feels the liquid from his cup flow down his throat and has to hide a grimace because that’s not coffee. It's bland and overall just tastes like water.

He settles back down anyway and listens to the conversation that’s going. At one point, Gen realizes the lights have been turned out, and he can’t see. That doesn’t surprise him though, one of the stagehands must be demonstrating something that he’ll have to learn. 

It’s at some point later on that Gen realizes the conversation has taken a turn. More people are talking over one another, which means they’ve already branched off into groups to brainstorm ideas. It’s then that Gen realizes that he can’t keep up with either of them. One group is talking about times for his shows in other countries, and the other group is talking over them about acetaminophen and fever reducers. Gen thinks it’s a weird contrast but doesn’t question it. He tries to go back to listening to one conversation at a time. Mainly the one with his manager because they’re the one who decides what’s best for him to do, and if there’s something Gen disagrees with, he can only voice it with them.

What he can manage to understand is that his manager is asking him what day it is. 

It’s a simple question, but one that is met in silence as Gen can’t answer.

Then his show producer is telling the manager to ask him a simpler question like what the year is. 

_That,_ Gen thinks, doesn’t make sense. He should know exactly what date it is, but for some reason, the words aren’t forming. Like his brain is disagreeing with his answer. But he manages to tell it like it is. At the very least, he knows what year it is. Maybe not the exact day at the moment, but he’s going to chalk that up to too many nights spent awake practicing tricks. He tells his manager, producer, and everyone else in the room.

The year is 2019.

——————

The sheer leap Senku’s heart makes when Gen mutters his answer as to what year it is, with an obvious air of confidence, will stay within Senku’s memory forever. His mind screams panic as he realizes Gen’s fading so much faster than he initially thought. He’ll have to think about it later, though, because Gen suddenly slumps back, his eyes rolling behind lids that are closing fast. 

He’s growing worse, far faster than what their meager supplies can combat against. While having a fever might not have been the biggest deal back in the modern world, it’s actually a pretty deadly thing, and right now, it’s proving itself just that. 

That’s when the grim realization crests over in Senku’s mind. Gen could die. He was overheating in his own body heat, already having passed the delirium phase, and they had nothing suitable to help. Besides, the meager rags wrung in water, which helped just about as much as throwing tiny droplets of water onto a bonfire. 

All of their options were running out. If Gen had any chance of surviving, they had to get back to Ishigami village quickly. The problem was the risk of moving Gen and making his condition worse. 

“Senku?” Kohaku’s voice wavers, cutting through Senku’s thoughts. 

“We’re 5.3 miles away from the village; if we run without stopping, then we should make it in time,” Senku says, making sure to keep his emotion out of his face. Kohaku still looks unsure anyway. “I won’t lie. Moving him and putting him through hard travel is probably the worst thing we can do right now, but if we don’t, he won’t make it past sundown. It’s either let him rest in peace or book it to the village and be sure he makes it out of this.” 

Kohaku grimaces but agrees anyway, carefully picking Gen up in her arms. “Will you be able to keep up?” She asks, watching him pull both his and Gen’s pack onto his shoulders. 

“I have to.”

But as his luck would have it, it doesn’t manage to be easy. When they finally pass the threshold into the village, Senku’s a panting mess with his hair disheveled, and his heart beating like a jackrabbit. He doesn’t have time to think about his own predicament, though. Gen is a deadweight in Kohaku’s arm, having become silent halfway through their journey as the hard travel took its toll. 

It’s all he can do to push away all the worried onlookers, follow Kohaku up the ladder to the observatory, and finally get some damn medicine into him. 

By the time the sun is starting to set, Gen is swaddled in new clothing and bedding after having a cool bath that Kohaku brought in as Senku fights to bring his fever down with medicine he pours down his throat. 

While Gen hasn’t woken, he does start to show signs that he’s getting better. His fever still needs a few days, but his skin isn’t as waxy was before. Nor does it sound like he’s fighting for his every breath. 

The sight makes Senku visibly deflate with a loud sigh of relief. He couldn’t be more grateful to his past self for creating extra of their medicine and storing it for future use. 

Had they not had it on hand… Senku nips that thought in the bud before he starts spiraling into a hole of “what if’s?”

Gen is healing now. They managed to get him the medicine in time, so now all he needs is rest so he can get back on his feet. It takes all of Senku’s willpower not to cry in relief. 

——————

When Gen finally manages to crawl his way back to wakefulness, he’s relieved to find that pain does not accompany him this time. 

While his head is still a bit fuzzy, his headache seems to be gone, and so is his cough. Opening his eyes is still hard, but he manages just enough to get his bearings. The ceiling he stares at is familiar, and how could it not be when he’s spent countless nights watching the stars slowly move past them from this exact position. It’s then that Senku’s face clears its way through his vision, and Gen can see that he’s smiling at him. Gen smiles back and accepts the water mug, Senku pushes into his hands. Gen’s happy he still has the energy to sit up. It’s only when the water begins to clear the rest of the cobwebs out of his mind when he startles and realizes Senku knows he’s sick. 

“Is — is this the observatory?” Gen stutters out, nearly spilling water all over himself if it weren’t for Senku assisting him. “When did we -”

“A few days ago.” Senku interrupts, the smile vanishing quickly as a sad demeanor suddenly encompasses Senku’s body. “You were pretty out of it.”

“Oh.” Now that Gen can think again, he remembers seeing Senku hovering worriedly over him, saying things he couldn’t hear and just overall being a constant presence of comfort. 

“I’m sorry,” Gen mutters, lowering his head as guilt washes over him in waves. 

Senku pats his head in a rather affectionate way. “It’s alright. Just next time, be sure to let me know.” Senku smiles again, making Gen’s stomach flutter in a way not associated with his sickness. “I can’t afford to have a heart attack so young, you know.” 

“Of course.” Gen chuckles, reveling in the way Senku follows suit. Before Gen can utter another word, Senku is leaning down and pressing a light kiss to his forehead. 

“I hope you’re feeling better, mentalist.” 

Gen is feeling better, but right now, that’s not the point. “Do it again!” He whispers excitedly. 

Senku laughs before repeating the gesture, soaking up the feeling of Gen giggling under him. “There, that’s all you’re getting until you’re 100% in the clear,” Senku says as he stands and heads over to the doors. “The others were pretty worried. I’ll let them know you’re alright.” 

Gen gapes as he witnesses Senku wink at him before he disappears without even letting Gen get a word in. “How uel-cray!” Gen laughs.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! As promised, here's the new fic! Hope it's alright, I kind of rushed it at the end... I did also change my style to present tense instead of past tense. I'm not sure if I like it so I'm still experimenting.
> 
> Finals really beat me to the floor but it's over now so I can finally focus on writing!
> 
> Want fic updates? I have a tumblr! @ Widow-Spyder
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> **~~~~NOTE: Just realized half of this fic wasn't saved properly and half my grammar mistakes were still inside. It's fixed now and my usual writing style in AO3 was also added because I guess I forgot it when I originally posted. Sorry about that!!**


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